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Metropolis Reality Forums Ť France Says Heat Toll May Be 10,000 ť

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   France Says Heat Toll May Be 10,000

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Topic: France Says Heat Toll May Be 10,000 (Read 174 times)

MzWings
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France Says Heat Toll May Be 10,000
« on: Aug 21^st, 2003, 5:04pm »

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http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,95334,00.html

Incredible!

Thursday, August 21, 2003

PARIS President Jacques Chirac (search) promised to correct failings in France's health services Thursday after a heat wave (search) killed an estimated 10,000 people, including many elderly who were left home alone while their families went on vacation.

Chirac, speaking publicly about the heat wave for the first time, said victims "died alone in their homes." He said he asked for a study of the crisis, and promised proposals by October to better care for France's growing number of elderly.

"Everything will be done to correct the insufficiencies that we noted in our health system," the president said in an address after a Cabinet meeting on the heat wave.

The heat wave, which saw temperatures go as high as 104 in France in the first two weeks of August, caused morgues and funeral homes to overflow with bodies, overwhelmed hospitals and prompted painful soul-searching about France's attitudes about the elderly.

Some critics accused families of abandoning elderly relatives alone at home while they took August vacations. Health workers blamed understaffing and underfunding at hospitals and retirement homes (search). Many accused the government of doing too little, too late.

"These dramas again shed light on the solitude of many of our aged or handicapped citizens," said Chirac. "Aged and handicapped people should be able to count on the solidarity of the French."

The minister for the elderly, Hubert Falco, said after the meeting that "most probably" 10,000 people died. That matched an estimate released a day earlier by France's largest chain of undertakers.

In an apparent effort to calm the storm of criticism, Chirac said "today, the time is for contemplation, solidarity and action."

He called the heat wave "exceptional," echoing some government health officials who said little more could have been done to save lives in such extreme weather.

Chirac had come under fire from opposition politicians and newspapers for remaining silent during the crisis,

...see URL for rest of story.....

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Rhune
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Re: France Says Heat Toll May Be 10,000
« Reply #1 on: Aug 21^st, 2003, 6:33pm »

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Wow! 10,000!!! Holy cow...that is very very sad if most of these deaths were elderly who were just abandoned by their families. Karma works in strange ways though...those houses with abandoned elderly who died while the family went on vacation...I don't expect they'll smell so nice anymore. Wow.. that is such a huge number... here, you see 4 in the city die from heat and it's huge news, and holy hell is raised over it....can you imagine 10,000? If they keep killing 6 women a month (the other article on spousal beatings) and letting 10,000 die in the summers...there's not gonna be much of France left in a few years.

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MzWings
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Re: France Says Heat Toll May Be 10,000
« Reply #2 on: Aug 22^nd, 2003, 8:53am »

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The major problem is that the majority of the buildings are so old, they can't be updated with air-conditioning systems. You'd think one could put an A/C in the window but - the window casings and wall would collapse. This is according to a radio report I heard yesterday.

All this is damned hard to believe in this day and age....

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